Alumni in Action: Middaugh closes banner season with World Triathlon Cup Miyazaki

Sullivan Middaugh concluded his 2024 triathlon campaign in Japan on Nov. 9, racing to a 23rd-place finish at the World Triathlon Cup Miyazaki. The former Battle Mountain star completed the 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run in a total time of 55 minutes, 52 seconds.

France’s Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger ( 53:59) took the overall title as Great Britain’s Ben Dijkstra (54:07) and Japan’s Kenji Nener (54:19) rounded out the podium. Middaugh — one of three Americans in the 42-athlete field — posted the fastest bike split (29:12) in the race, which was his second-career World Cup. The 20-year-old took 20th in his debut at the World Triathlon Cup Karlovy Vary on Sept. 8.

The World Triathlon Cup was established in 1991 as a regular-season series of competitions to compliment the ITU Triathlon World Championships. In 2009, the World Triathlon Championship Series was created as the top professional circuit, turning the World Cup into a feeder series. Still, points earned in the World Cup are applied to an athletes’ World Championship Series ranking, where Middaugh sits 104th.

The 2024 season was a breakout one for the Project Podium athlete, who also competes in XTERRA off-road triathlons.

Middaugh was on the podium at the Americas Triathlon Championships Miami on March 8 in the U23 division. Then, on May 5, he won his first-career continental cup level race, topping the elite men’s field at the Americas Triathlon Cup Calima. He took another victory on Aug. 10 in Punta Cana and was second overall in Edmonton on Aug. 24.

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On the off-road front, Middaugh claimed the inaugural XTERRA North American championship in May, adding to his back-to-back XTERRA USA titles from 2022 and 2023 in Beaver Creek. On Sept. 25, he won the XTERRA World Championship short-track title in a furious sprint finish.

Other alumni in action

• Liv Moritz’s sophomore soccer season at the University of Denver came to a close in the Summit League semifinals. The No. 2 seed Pioneers fell to No. 3 South Dakota State University 2-1 in Fargo on Nov. 7. Moritz had a goal called back for offsides in the 81st minute of the loss and had another look three minutes later that sailed just right. The U.S. Ski Team athlete — who was the Summit League Newcomer of the Year in 2023 after scoring 18 points and earned All-American honors on the slopes for DU — ended the year with five goals and an assist in 19 games.
• The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced its all-conference teams for the 2024 season on Friday and University of Colorado-Colorado Springs midfielder Dani Barajas earned first-team honors. The Battle Mountain product led the conference in goals (11) and was second in points (26) in what was “one of the most efficient offensive campaigns in program history” according to a UCCS press release. Barajas led the Mountain Lions to a 14-2-4 record and No. 3 national ranking in 2024. UCCS fell to CSU-Pueblo 2-1 in the RMAC championship game on Nov. 13 and will find out if it has a slot in the NCAA DII national tournament at Monday’s selection show.
• Will Brunner was Harvard’s seventh runner at the NCAA DI Northeast Regional cross-country championships on Nov. 15. The freshman completed the 10-kilometer course at Hopkinton State Fairgrounds in Contoocook, New Hampshire, in 31 minutes, 30.8 seconds to finish 76th in the 256-runner field. Harvard finished second as a team to qualify for the NCAA championships on Nov. 23 in Madison, Wisconsin.